76ers Reveal Joel Embiid, Paul George-less Starting Five vs Cavaliers

76ers find themselves vastly shorthanded for night two of back-to-back.

Nov 8, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Kyle Lowry (7) dribbles against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Following their NBA Cup battle with the New York Knicks Tuesday, the Philadelphia 76ers already find themselves back in action. They're back on their home floor to host Donovan Mitchell and the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Sixers have found themselves shorthanded for most of the season, and are vastly depleted for Wednesday's matchup. After suiting up last night, Joel Embiid and Paul George have been ruled out due to injury management. Tyrese Maxey remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, and Andre Drummond was ruled out because of an illness.

With this laundry list of injuries, Nick Nurse is once again rolling out a new starting lineup. The Sixers will be opening this matchup with a unit of Kyle Lowry, Jared McCain, Kelly Oubre Jr., Caleb Martin, and Guerschon Yabusele.

Rookie Jared McCain gets the first start of his NBA career in this matchup. He's seen a steady increase in playing time as of late, and continues to make the most of the opportunity. After scoring a career-high 27 points against the Charlotte Hornets, he followed it up with a 23-point outing against the Knicks.

The shorthanded Sixers find themselves with one of their toughest challenges of the year yet. Cleveland is the final undefeated team in the NBA with a 12-0 record. This strong start has them sitting in the top spot in the Eastern Conference, three games ahead of the reigning champion Boston Celtics.

As for the Cavaliers, Kenny Atkinson is starting the game with Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, and Jarett Allen.